Shining Star
by Cake-Addict
Summary: Graylu prompt 1: Cold


**_AN: Happy belated Graylu Week 2014! Speaking of which, my birthday was on the same day the Graylu week began. So cool! ^-^ ^-^_**

**_Once again, Happy early Graylu Week! *bursts firecrackers*_**

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_**Graylu prompt 1: Cold**_

It was a strange feeling. A really really strange feeling, one which he'd never thought he'd experience. After all, he was an ice mage. Ice mages aren't supposed to be feel cold. It's the most basic principle. Ice Creation Magic requires the castor to be fully accustomed to chilling and frigid temperatures, otherwise the ice couldn't be called forth. That's the beauty of Ice Creation. This type of magic allows you to be creative. The more fertile your imagination, the more beautiful your ice creation skills. You can create anything you desire. Anything. Take for example, Ultear's Ice Rose Garden, it's an excellent example of what Ice Creation Magic can make.

But, before we continue further, let's start from the beginning. And so the story starts,

Gray sat in one of the corner seats, silently observing as each and every one fluttered about, never remaining still for more than 3 mins, all of them mumbling about how the weather had taken a turn for the worse. Til yesterday evening, the weather had been nice. Heck, even today morning, the weather was slightly cold, but now, there was a heavy snowstorm billowing outside. As he observed, he saw that all of them were rubbing their hands together to get some warmth, some even cuddled each other to share body warmth. He snorted. Couldn't they at least wait to do the touchy feely stuff later?

Suddenly, the guild doors opened with a bang and at once, the snow flooded inside. There were outrages and shrieks of protest against the way the doors were opened. But Gray's attention was somewhere else. He watched as Lucy and Natsu entered, bickering about something or the other. Lucy's expression mirrored Natsu's, both of them were so deeply engrossed that they hadn't realised that the guild doors were already thrown open. When they realised, it was their turn to blush profusely. With a huff, both of them seperated, one sitting on his right side and the other on his left.

Sensing that none of them was ready to talk yet, he opened his mouth to speak when he caught sight of Lucy, who was still blushing furiously. Not understanding, he turned to question Lucy.

"What's with that look? Thinking about someone, huh?"

His voice came out scratchy, as if it had been unused for years. Clearing his throat, he tried again, only to be interrupted by Lucy, who was still averting her eyes, looking at the ground instead.

After what seemed like forever, Lucy spoke. "It's just that... How am I supposed to say it?!"

Then in a stern voice, she questioned him again. "Where are your clothes, Gray?"

My clothes? Looking down at his body, he realised that he was in fact wearing nothing but boxers. Now it was his turn to look sheepish. Shit!

"Gah! Where did my clothes go?"

Behind him, he heard Natsu snicker at his plight.

'Flame-headed bastard.'

After finding where his clothes went and putting them on, he sat down on the stool with a heavy sigh.

He felt someone staring at him, and turned to find Lucy looking at his chest that had been unclothed just mere minutes ago, her eyes distant. Feeling self - conscious, he wrapped his arms around himself. He cleared his throat and Lucy drew out of her staring, cheeks red. Natsu pretended not to have noticed and started a friendly banter with Gray, and like always, it escalated into a brawl in which more or less, the whole guild joined in. They were forced to stop however, when news of Erza's arrival came. No one wanted to face the wrath of the Titania.

Same old routine, followed everyday.

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In the midst of all this, Lucy started feeling left out. Levy-chan had gone on a mission with Gajeel and Pantherlily, even Wendy decided to go on a mission with Charles and Happy, stating that she wanted to be strong, to not be a burden on any of them. All of them had convinced her otherwise, but she still insisted on going until the master finally gave in. So, needless to say, Lucy was bored and tired.

Shaking her head at the guild member's stupid antics, she decided to go home, she was so tired after all the walking Natsu had made her do. Her legs hurt and her whole body ached. Standing up, she walked to the guild doors, and wrenched it open, causing snow to fall inside again and wafts of cold air to blow, making everyone shiver.

Ignoring the shrieks of protest, she made her way to her house. If she hadn't been bone tired, she would've worried that Natsu was rubbing off on her. She'd started to pick up Nastu's habits.

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Gray's eyes had dulled when Lucy had left and he was making a face that looked as if someone had killed his puppy.

Shaking his head, he also decided to head home. Stangely, he was feeling cold, which was not good news at all. It was his first time experiencing cold after such a long time. Honestly, he'd never thought he'd ever feel cold again.

Dismissing the thought, he also started walking towards his home. Natsu noticed the change in Gray, and although he knew he should be concerned because it was very rare that something brought him down, he couldn't bring himself to care, not today.

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Gray finally reached his house and entered, shutting the door close behind him. Climbing the stairs, he plopped down on the bed, suddenly feeling very tired. As soon as he closed his eyes, sleep overtook him. He dreamed of his past that day. The time when it was snowing in Isvan. He remembered the snowball fight he had with his parents.

He woke up, dazed and feeling moisture in his eyes, he rubbed them away. He reminisced his past. Life had been good then, as good as it could be.

He had been so happy. He'd felt secure, and very blessed to have such wonderful parents. He couldn't possibly have foreseen that it was all bound to change drastically, that he'd be the only survivor and become... an orphan.

Losing his parents, his village, his everything, had taken its toll on Gray. He was afraid of letting anyone close. Little by little, he'd been warming up to Ur and Lyon, eventually. Ur had become his mother, and losing her while knowing it was his fault she'd died, was not something he could cope with. The guilt ate him alive each day. He was dead sure, that without FairyTail, he would've crumbled to dust long ago, under the weight of the guilt he bore. Natsu was nothing more than an annoying pest, and Erza was someone who scared him, but that all changed with the arrival of Lucy Heartfilia.

The moment she'd stepped on the threshold, he was sure his life had changed for the better with her around. She was like a star, with her looks and her flawless skin. She radiated power , beauty and kindness. And when she looked at him, his heart fluttered. He was unable to meet her eyes. Eyes that were the colour of honey, with a warm and welcoming gaze. He'd felt he was not worthy of looking at her in the eye. She still had her innocence, while he'd been forced to grow up, resulting in the loss of his innocence.

As time passed, he realized he was falling in love with her. And she, she was too naive to realize that. But what hurt the most, that she only saw him as her best friend. Not someone with whom she'd want to spend her life. He'd gladly sacrifice everything just to have her by his side, always, but he knew it was selfish. Selfish to want her with his full being, when she didn't obviously didn't see him in that light. It hurt, but he could live with that.

Soemthing had changed that day, he just didn't know what.

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**The End.**

**AN: Sorry for the late entry. With all the exam-related stress, I forgot to post it. -_-**


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